Home's Cool
It's so important for us to stay connected nowadays; parents need external enthusiasm and ideas, kid
Fabulous simple activity today. On our walk we collected things we thought could be part of a dragon. When we got home we used spelling practise to write out their parts, then described the function of each part and finally drawing and naming the dragon. Simple and fun. Next we might make a dragon song.
14/01/2021
Origami dragons. Following instructions, fine motor skills, craft... And you get a dragon!
Today we went fishin' and caught a couple of whoppers
Child led story time... A fair amount of vocabulary and structure has gone in.
The days when we can meet and be creative and have fun will return and I've got some brilliant ideas for when they do.
It's been a while since we posted our adventures. I'll edit a new round of things we've been up to... Today we've picnicked and howled. Us wolves love that.
07/05/2020
Stunning video. As a teacher I would start creative writing lessons with this type of input followed by a walk outside, collecting experiences, building descriptive vocabulary. From this, poetry, descriptive writing or setting a scene at the start of a story could be created. As a follow up life cycles in science and art. One theme with lots of possibilities.
https://thekidshouldseethis.com/post/story-of-flowers-botanical-animation-azuma-makoto?fbclid=IwAR2OVoiPOjrb7E0V6NrUSvHk9ndyTHNC7886Ievv_F6gtWXY9hJ-0tmBn7k
Story of Flowers, a breathtaking botanical animation | The Kid Should See This Directed by Tokyo-based botanical artist Azuma Makoto, Story of Flowers showcases the life cycle of flowers as a wordless explainer.
01/05/2020
What a gorgeous surprise. The boys have literally danced for joy at this beautiful gift complete with mini picnic mat and sweets for a Teddy bears picnic. Thank you Oma (german for nanna)... We really needed that today as cabin fever levels have been peaking!
Old school! Parachutes on toys... Tried different toys, different materials and sizes of parachute... Just label this science rather than me reliving my youth.
01/05/2020
Just saw this and had a crack at it. Videos in the comments of how sami tried spotting and adding numbers... Not sure if we are right but it was an intersting little maths challenge.
01/05/2020
If cats are in tanks Hugo will need to be in a tank too... day sorted!
https://www.sadanduseless.com/cat-army/
Cats In Cardboard Tanks Indisputable proof that cats are building an army to finally take over the world.
Hugo's Grufts agility round. A few paws put wrong but pretty decent... I may have enjoyed it most.
There will be a lot of movie pitches after lockdown... we just ask Mr Spielberg that ours is considered.
25/04/2020
If only these dogs and dinosaurs would stay still! I'm sure we could make something cool.
25/04/2020
Now this we will be doing!
https://www.sadanduseless.com/dinosaurs-gallery/?fbclid=IwAR3CNal5FzdKk2VpyVMFmFtwawOrNI-7CbI5WCkNnFR9mPwLBL5gJtLMXrc
Quarantined Owners Use Cardboard Boxes To Turn Their Pets Into Dinosaurs What happens when you have lots of free time and need to distract yourself from uncontrollable life events? You unleash your creativity!
Crufts in our garden? Why not! Who fancies building their own agility course and sending it over... we all had a ton of fun making ours (maybe apart from the giraffe).
19/04/2020
One old picture frame, a few intersting bits we found, a sq**rt of maple syrup and voila... An arty science insect home.
17/04/2020
When plans A, B and C don't work and energy levels run low, dump a load of bits in the garden and make your own games. Great for tired dad, great for the kids.
On a learning level I've taught this with year 5. Designing games uses instructional language, an understanding of participants, a use of a range of materials and fosters a creative independence which will be invaluable in their futures.
I've cleared the shed and pottered too. We've all benefitted from a relaxed day of flexible objectives!
We will certainly be joining!
Activities we have coming up:
-Japanese art with Colin.
-yoga with Stacy
-making a dance routine for Amelia and the whole family including costumes, music, moves, instructions.
Calm, calm, crazy!
16/04/2020
Keep it simple, creative and fun. Hopefully schools will be able to do the same once everyone returns and has found a new love and need for the creative.
https://bbc.in/34oMBIO
Should we lower expectations for home-schooling? Two weeks after the school shutdown, are parents and teachers lowering expectations?
15/04/2020
We've loved focusing on small natural details right now, unravels a world of learning from insects, to rocks, to birds and... Flowers! We used photography to quiz uncle Mark. Now we hassle him every 2 minutes for new flowers we've spotted. Such a great way to keep minds active (dad mostly I think!) and little ones with a new themed natural treasure hunt.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OpZiaHUCWHo
Home's Cool- Flower Quiz with Uncle Mark A lovely easy and fun nature lesson from our uncle Mark. It's so important for us to stay connected nowadays; parents need external enthusiasm and ideas, kid...
We don't throw anything away at the moment so we can build garages and Bokugan stations (EVIDENTLY)... again I've done this with year 6. Great design skills nurtured even if it does reveal what dad has been eating and drinking to survive!!!
I've done bread making as a year 6 science lesson. This morning we've started to make bread because we need bread! Our neighbour quietly popped yeast around as a lovely surprise... I love being a part of these community stories.
So learning-wise we've talked about dissolving with the sugar, we've talked about yeast being alive and needing water and food and that it will 'breathe' out carbon dioxide to make fluffy holes in bread. We are waiting for our dough to rise... Pop out for our walk, come back and pop it in the oven for lunch. Trialling a slow cooker comparison too like in the video.
So much great learning and we make our lunch and sami does some ninja skills for exercise as well... Win win win!
https://youtu.be/nTBjnBmVGD0
The Easter Bunny came! The boys have decided to share some eggs with our elderly neighbours who can't get out and enjoy time with their families today. On celebratory days it can feel the most lonely so it's when we must think of connecting even more. If you'd like some Easter cheer send us a message and we will video message a special happy Easter message to you.
11/04/2020
Our Mauritian cooking lesson from our elderly Mauritian neighbour was as rich and fulfilling as the curry. I will share this recipe and our experience in the video soon. We all loved coming together and learning something new... Even from a distance we feel closer.
Today we have a Mauritian curry cooking lesson from our elderly neighbours at 11, then a motorbike showcase/explanation/tutorial from my uncle Dave and auntie Jane in Weston Super Mare this afternoon. To wake up and have no activities to plan is a big weight off and I'm so excited by both sessions... Let's hope the little rascals are up for them too.
09/04/2020
From a day of battles a bit of creation came... Baby Groot! We have a giant one on the go too. Still not an easy day but at least we haveva baby groot.
Staying connected, learning, having fun!
Staying connected, learning, having fun!
I’ve been a teacher for 17 years and I have learned so much from the talents of others. Now that we are tasked with isolating ourselves, it brings a new set of challenges for every household, especially those with children. I have 2 children, aged 5 and 2, and we will try to share videos of our learning to help stay connected with our loved ones and to connect with friends and family far away over this period. As a parent I need the ideas and enthusiasm of those outside of our house, my children need the activities and social connections with our friends and family, and our family members, especially our more elderly, dearly need this social interaction so that when we all emerge from our homes we are closer in many ways. We all need each other and these videos will just share how we are doing this.
Parents, you are doing a brilliant job. Just by being there and keeping everyone alive and sane you are heroes at such an intense time. As a teacher I’d like to reassure you of all the great learning you imparting on your children by doing everyday activities. I’ll list a few key learning achievements in the bio of each video to help, but it’s not a key focus. So long as everyone is enjoying themselves that’s the main thing. This can be a precious time of playing to your strengths and when those are exhausted, turn to the strengths of others. In our family we have learned:
-Baking from nanna
Videos (show all)
